Manny Laureano

You all have questions that Luis would be happy to answer. Remember, I'm just the editor! At any rate, go to luisloubriel.com and he'll be happy to help you out!

ML

AndrewTomlinson

Hi Manny

Just received my copy this morning.

WOW!

The book is a lot larger than I was expecting - 261 pages!

You were right, a book as valuable as this shouldn't be gathering dust on a University library bookshelf.

This has to be the book of the year for me.

Thanks for your contributions, now an e-mail to Luis.

Andrew

Derek Reaban

Andrew,

I’m with you. WOW!

I’ve had my book for about a week (far too busy to actually get into it in much detail yet), but I have started looking at it during my practice sessions. The interviews with Manny, William Scarlet, and Vincent Cichowicz alone look like they would be worth getting the book. I love the ITG Journals for their great interviews, and Luis seems to ask just the right questions with each of these fantastic players/teachers in his book.

I’m not sure if you’ve discovered the term MEME or vMEME yet, but I was totally clueless when I first saw it.

I looked this up, because it is really key to his discussion:

• vMeme is a typographic construction created for the 1996 book, Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change. It collapses a v for 'value system' and meme in an effort to represent an "idea attractor" rather than an information packet. The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in 1974 for idea chunks which are similar to genes — they replicate, spread, and compete for dominance in human consciousness. They are attracted, ignored, or repelled by minds at different levels of psychological existence based on their fit, and how they are received. Memes are like contents; vMemes are like containers.

When you get to the diagrams, it is something that finally explains the “big picture” related to advancement on our instrument (and in every other discipline), and more importantly, as complete musicians. The “quadrants” of accomplishment, and the "magnitude" of these elements in the finest players represent the goals that we all strive to achieve in our own playing. Seeing these laid out in one book is just fantastic!

I especially like when he starts in one quadrant with “basic sound production” and then moves to “activation of overtones” and finally “acoustical brilliance”. That progression along with all of the other pieces that must be in place to push out the boundaries into each of the four quadrants gives me a new perspective on how I will be looking at my personal practice.

Special thanks to both Manny for encouraging Luis to make this project available to a larger audience, and to Luis for putting together such a wonderful resource for all of us to learn from!

Now if I could just find some time to get busy reading!

__________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

AndrewTomlinson

ERRRR

Derek

I'm saving that section for later, it makes my brain ache at the moment!

Andrew

Veldkamp

For me the big picture of this book and all what AJ tried to teach us (as I understand it) is said in this quote : " You are a musician and things have to be worked out based on music" or in other words "Song and wind".

It's a great book and I will recommend people to buy and study it.

__________________
www.erikveldkamp.com
http://trumpetkings.blogspot.com

Manny Laureano

You guys are very kind to write in with your positive comments. The book is somethning I've dreamed of for so long and I'm glad Luis Loubriel was not content to only keep it a dream but made it a reality.

Thanks for your kindness,

ML

TrumpetDan

Hello,
I received my book a few days ago and already it has made a profound impact on my perspective about being a trumpet artist.

I was much too young at the time to have ever studied with Mr. Jacobs. I found when I first started to approach his pedagogy, I was more than somewhat confused. Mr. Scarlett really made a huge difference in my playing by explaining the pure simplicity of it all. Luis's book really has put the icing on the cake. I finally have the information I need to sketch my own direction as an artist. I can also finally isolate my "issues" and become the most efficient brass player possible.

I believe strongly that anyone from any playing system could greatly benefit by adding this text to their library.

I want to extend my thanks to Luis for his outstanding efforts, to Manny for your excellent and polished editing, and to my teacher Mr. Scarlett for his guidance. He is such an underappreciated part of our musical world and he deserves much more recognition than he receives (hint-hint, maybe an ITG award?)

Well, I just wanted to chime in and share my joy and excitement over this great addition to our reading literature.

Take care, and God Bless,

Dan

Mikey

I just ordered my copy. Luis and I go way back to the early 90's and our Salsa band days........I look forward to seeing his work.

M.

brianf

It has now been ten years since I wrote ARNOLD JACOBS: SONG AND WIND. Mr Jacobs told me that it might sell a couple hundred copies - the first printing sold out in three months and it is currently in it's sisth printing. I told Mr Jacobs that this is just the beginning, there will be many books about his teachings. ARNOLD JACOBS LEGACY OF A MASTER by M. Dee Stewart that came out in 1987 preceeded my book then TEACHING BRASS by Kristian Steenstrup, based on much of Mr Jacobs' teachings, came out a few years ago.

Over time I have heard about a number of Jacobs book projects, some projects are just talk, others will never appear, then there are those that do materialize. Here in 2006, there will be two books, Bruce Nelson's ALSO SPRACH ARNOLD JACOBS AND Luis Loubriel's LASTING CHANGE FOR TRUMPETERS. As far as Loubriel's book, I have heard about this and ordered a copy just like the rest of you.

Bruce Nelson has been to my office researching Jacobs masterclass videos and I have seen the first and second drafts. Lately I have been working with the publisher, Karl Degenhart of Polymnia Press in Germany providing pictures and graphs for the final book. I will be distributing this book in the U.S. and there is a link on my web page but no orders will be accepted until the books arrive. Bruce sent drafts out to a number of prominent Jacobs students and the comments have been favorable.

For the past several years, Mr Jacobs has been back doing masterclasses through a ten-part video presentation that I have been doing, ARNOLD JACOBS ALMOST LIVE. Let's face it, there are a lot of people who teach what they learned from Mr Jacobs. Here are actual videos from masterclasses Mr Jacobs did from 1984-98 right from the master! Mr Jacobs had me bring a video camera to all masterclasses, at Northwestern and on the road. I edited through nearly 300 hours of videos and, after hearing this for over 25 years, knew what he said all the time and what he said just a few times. Those video clips were put back together in a powerpoint presentation. There are samples on my web page, http://www.windsongpress.com/almost%...ost%20live.htm - you will need a high speed connection and Windows Media Player to view these videos. For those of you who knew Mr Jacobs, this will be a great refresher course. There are no plans for a commercial video release of this - the only bookings are for a one hour segment at a few tuba shows. The three day class was done twice last summer and worked great. So far, no bookings in the future - this is a project that may be scrapped unless universities pick this up.

Someone brought up the subject of permission to do a Jacobs book. This is a subject that has gone on for years. There are authorized biographies then unauthorized (Sinatra, Howard Hughes). Let's face it, anyone can write about anyone these days. In the case of Jacobs, the author must have been a student of his - all authors, including Nelson and Loubriel have been in the Jacobs studio. There is a matter of perspective. I am a tuba player, Stewart and Nelson play the trombone, Steenstrup and Loubriel play the trumpet. There will be some differences but the majority of the material involves the physiology and psychology of making music. Here you will find similarities.

Personally, I welcome the two new additions about Mr Jacobs. In my office are Mr Jacobs' medical books (a man is what a man reads) that several graduate students have come to research. If there are others who are doing a research project on Mr Jacobs, I welcome them to contact me.

__________________
Brian Frederiksen
WindSong Press
PO Box 146
Gurnee, Illinois 60031
Phone 847 223-4586 Fax 847 223-4580
www.windsongpress.com
brianf@windsongpress.com

Manny Laureano

Thank you, Brian!

No kidding, check out the link he put up. I get chills when I hear Arnold speak sometimes on those clips now that he's left us. But it's always comfoting to hear him say the things I heard him say so many times.

Dave Baldwin needs to get you out here. I'd love to hear and see the whole thing in person.

ML